Gunnar's Colic again!!!

FlickaThe vet said to give him 1/2 salt in his grain, have to ask him how much, I forget and he said a handful of bran with his bran every feeding, so I'm assuming twice a day.. but I think I'll talk to him again on that.. I'm thinking once a day is enough.. you see I was so bent out of shape when he was there I forget what he told me.. no problems I can call him today and find out now that I'm in a better frame of mind.. and yes I will give him hugs.. he got lots from Sarah and I this weekend.. he's such a baby.
Ok Sooke one shot for me.. that will help me relax.. lol

I FEEL YOUR PAIN !!!!!!!! Colic is an absolute nightmare. And I can say that after just having gone through it with two of ours. I hope the Gun-man doesn't have to go through it again. Scarey stuff! I hope that both of you can have a nice rest now that it's over.

I am so sorry you boy was sick.. I hope he is doing way better now..

Only skimmed through the thread... at work and my computer at home is not getting a good internet connection.' So I apologize if I am repeating anything...

Bran... I did some research on bran last year.....

Seems bran can cause mild colic in horses when fed as a "once in a while" mash...it is a major dietary change to feed only on occasion...

Next thing, is it is not good to feed on a regular basis either... messes up the phosphorus levels? That is a whole topic in it'self...


What kind of colic did he have? A gassy colic ?

Had a horse have regular colic episodes... turned out to be tapeworm! Go figure! :roll:

Hope he gets better soon!

TC .. well yes I'v heard that too about bran.. omg you get so many opinions on what to do.. he's sensative I do know that.. his worming schedule is faithful.. we always make sure it's done when it's suppose to be.. tape worm and all.. we clean paddocks up on a regular basis so nothing is left behind.. and we check manure and no sign of worms.. tape worm is easliy spotted so I don't think it's that.. however we did start feeding him beet pulp only a few days ago, so thinking that is what did it.. dam.. maybe I'll just go get the probotics and do that only.. it can't hurt can it?

Are tapeworm easy to spot? I thought they were very hard to spot.... :/

Yeah, I agree....soo many opinions and experiences... Can be frustrating...
regardless of what it is, there are ALWAYS positive experiences and negative ones on the same subject...

Maybe because the beet pulp is high in fibre...it gave him some belly cramps?

Ya Trish I think tape worm is easliy spotted, I've seen it loads of times.. small rice like critters.. ewwwwwwwwe .. I had a fecal done on him too and it was clear .. so I think it's more of a case of sensative belly and the beet pulp was too much for him.. I'm going to the barn tonight and making him his meal up for Tues.. that is when he can have grain again.. so it will be a handful of high fat and fiber (his usual) with 1/4 cup of equalizer (his usual) and 1/2 salt.. I'll continue that for a week or so then I'll add probotics.. my plan.. fingers crossed.. no devation will be done from this feed.. if he colics again.. then we'll look at other opitions

Wissy so sorry i missed this i have been so busy, poor you!!!!!! and poor Gunnar so glad he is feeling better, i would be a wreck i am like you a worrier

Horse Tapeworm is totally different and MUCH bigger then rice sized, like in a dog or cat...(not sure if that was what you were referring to.... )...kind of looks like big noodles... And they are very hard to spot in fecal exams, as the eggs do not show up...you actually have to be lucky to find a segment of the actual worm....

This is the only way we found out....we got lucky that a segment was stuck in the manure sample,. and the vet tech spotted it...(not under a microscope, it was that big), otherwise we wouldn't have even treated for it... And the poor horse was LOADED with them... we had no idea... :shock:

We were loading her with beet pulp and fat and fibre etc...trying to put weight on her, and it worked for a few months... We blamed the weight loss on her nervous and sensitive nature... however, once we got rid of the tapeworm, her demeanor changed...she kept the weight on with hay and beet pulp alone....

This is just one person's horse/colic story though...his can, and is, probably totally different...

:/

~TC~ wrote:

Next thing, is it is not good to feed on a regular basis either... messes up the phosphorus levels? That is a whole topic in it'self...

I had asked about that too, expecally with Flicka was pregnate with Mei, and the vet said as it's only a small handful twice a day and she was getting extra supplements I had nothing to worry about.

The vet said once or twice a week give him a bran mash.

I agree with TC in the fact that it seems like a 'stock to the system' if given once and a while. I think some horses wouldn't react to a once and a while mash but Gunnar, like we've been saying is sensitive to dietary changes.

I too have heard from our vet that treated Gunnar that bran can mess up phosphorus levels.
You really have to watch just what you are putting into their bodies and be aware of their physiology.

Gunnar's colics have all been gas colic.

TE - what about the stuff they give Emmy? She seems to get a lot of gas colics too, doesn't she?

I made his food up tonight.. 1/2 tsp of half salt, handfull of fat and fiber and 1/4 cup of equalizer.. this won't over burden his system and we will creep that up a bit as the week goes on.. I'll start him on Probotics later..

MorgansRgreat - I was wondering what that was too. I will look into that, but again.. I will ask the vet if that is something Gunnar is aloud to have.

Well, Emmy still tends to get gas colics, so not so sure it works (whatever it is). :scratch:

Wissy, I know a barn that stopped feeding Hi Fat Hi Fiber cause it was causing there horses to colic might be something to look into

NbyN.. you know.. funny you would say that.. I was talking to my sister tonight and she mentioned that she took her gelding off it for that very reason.. I never knew that.. so what .. I don't like sweet feed.. I'm thinking oats and his equalizer .. or omelen pellets.. ???

I also give my gelding a probiotic called fasttrack that I get from the vet in the valley,It comes in a bag approx 2kgs and it,s about 35.00, you only give a small scoop a day so it lasts a while. Just a thought!!!
Someone told me today I could get it at valleyfield but I haven't checked it out yet.

Wissy, I have my old guy on Carbguard (Blue Seal) and Hifat/hifiber. The Carbguard is low in NSC and is better for him because of his cushings. TE knows about it. I get it at Valleyfield. But, his vet suggested we change him over very, very slowly (he was getting just Hifat/hifiber). The change over went well and he loves it.

NSC - non structural carbohydrates.

MRG.. thanks so much for helping out with this.. I think Gunnar is colic proned.. I will try anything for him to stop this.. he really doesn't take it very well... I know none do.. but Gunnar really doesn't handle the pain well at all.. it's so sad and scarey to watch what he goes through..

Hey Wissy, I just got my order of probiotics in and have started Stretch on them. I figured they won't hurt him if he doesn't need them, and hopefully they'll help him get more out of his food and no more colic. I've reduced his HF/HF and put him on haycubes.

Oats and Olmene is asking for a HOT horse... IMO

I think he is fine on HF/HF. Gunnar has only coliced when his diet was changed or when he was on a large amount of grain.

TE.. I thought you were in PEI..

Lol .. nope. I have a sore throat.. didn't want to pass it on to the fam :(

Random info :

It was once a common practice to give horses a weekly bran mash of wheat bran mixed with warm water and other ingredients. It is still done regularly in some places. While a warm, soft meal is a treat many horses enjoy, and was once considered helpful for its laxative effect, it is not nutritionally necessary. An old horse with poor teeth may benefit from food softened in water, a mash may help provide extra hydration, and a warm meal may be comforting in cold weather, but horses have far more fiber in their regular diet than do humans, and so any assistance from bran is unnecessary. There is also a risk that too much wheat bran may provide excessive phosphorus, unbalancing the diet, and a feed of unusual contents fed only once a week could trigger a bout of colic.


Ponies and miniature horses are usually easy keepers and need less feed than full-sized horses. This is not only because they are smaller, but also, because they evolved under harsher living conditions than horses, they use feed more efficiently.[43] Ponies easily become obese from overfeeding and therefore are at high risk for colic, Equine Metabolic Syndrome, and, especially, laminitis. Fresh grass is a particular danger to ponies; they can develop laminitis in as little as one hour of grazing on lush pasture.

Quote :

Ponies and miniature horses are usually easy keepers and need less feed than full-sized horses. This is not only because they are smaller, but also, because they evolved under harsher living conditions than horses, they use feed more efficiently.[43] Ponies easily become obese from overfeeding and therefore are at high risk for colic, Equine Metabolic Syndrome, and, especially, laminitis. Fresh grass is a particular danger to ponies; they can develop laminitis in as little as one hour of grazing on lush pasture.

"easy Keepers" should now be changed to "insulin resistant". They just can't handle the sugars... In the human world, they are often diabetics...

On that note, is sugar good for those who are NOT diabetic even though they can process them better?


Sorry, got a bit off topic..... :silent:


However, I have not run across a horse that gets hot on oats... :scratch: I wonder where that came from....because I grew up being told that...